Anberlin Complete
by TFRiD Queen
Summary: Series of mostly single-shot songfics based off of Anberlin songs. Main couplings are Johan/Antaria OC , Judai/Asuka, with occasional others, depending on the song. Track 2: Foreign Language: Jaden and Alexis can't understand each other...can they?
1. Part I: Blueprints for the Black Market

Part I: Blueprints for the Black Market

He was asleep. The clock's display did show, after all, that it was well past two in the morning already. And yet, he didn't think he was asleep…or maybe he only thought so in his head. What were those called? Dreams?

_Oh, that's right. Dreams. Yeah, that's it_. His mind could hardly register any logical coherence at the moment. But that was it. He was dreaming…

"…_your arm in mine near midnight and it feels so right…"_

_Someone was running away with him._

"_We've already done it! Let's get out of here!"_

"…_-oss isn't going…police…run!"_

_The sound of whistles…police whistles? He couldn't tell—didn't have the time to tell. After all, he was running for his life…with everyone else. Right?_

"—_lright?"_

_What?_

"—_you alright?"_

_Yes, I think so…why wouldn't I be?_

"_Can you wait for me a little, a little longer?"_

_A warning. Then, a gunshot. It missed him, but he knew they couldn't keep running in the open. That would be suicide._

"_In here!" _

_Both of them dodged left into an alley with a broken fence. Summoning strength that he never knew he had, he managed to haul her and himself over in less than a minute. And then they were taking off again._

"_What about everyone else?"_

"_They can handle it." He gasped out, barely able to catch his breath. She didn't say anything after that. She knew, or rather, they both knew, the real truth…_

…

…

…

"…_--out! Move!"_

"_Agh!" She cried out in pain._

"_No! Come on, don't die on me!" He was running with her on his back now…then…_

"—han, wh—…--p ?"

_What? How did they get from—_

"—said…get up?"

Wait, dream? Get up? I'm dreaming…no, not anymore I'm not… 

"This is your last chance, mister."

I'm coooming…just…waaiit… 

SPLASH. Antaria, having become fed-up with her boyfriend's inability to wake up, poured a bucketful of ice cold water on him, effectively jolting him back into reality. Bewildered, and dripping water from his hair, Johan Andersen literally jumped out of bed.

"C-cold! Antaria, what the hell?" Johan sputtered as he feebly threw the covers off and staggered into the bathroom to clean up.

"The alarm started ringing ten minutes ago and it hasn't stopped since. I let you get some extra sleep since I figured you needed it, but my god, I didn't except you to be such a heavy sleeper! I thought that title belonged to Judai." She retorted as she began to strip the sheets off along with the blankets (since they were wet, she reasoned that she might as well wash them) and shoved them onto the living room floor.

"Well, I'm so-rry." he shot back sarcastically. "I did hear you telling me to wake up, but I thought I was dreaming."

"Really? What were you dreaming about? Must've been quite a dream if even the radio on full blast couldn't wake you." Finished with the sheets, Antaria simply sat on the bed and waited for Johan to get dressed so they could go eat breakfast.

"Ung…I only remember parts of it now…" Johan pulled his wet shirt off, and began to do the same to his pants when he realized she was still there. "Uh, you know, could I have some…privacy, maybe?" he gesticulated, trying to get his point across.

"What's the big deal? It's not like we haven't seen each other naked before." She made no attempts to move.

Johan sighed and continued changing; he knew long ago it was pointless to argue in situations such as these, but hey, at least he tried. It was amazing how two peoples' logic could differ so much. By now, Antaria had settled herself with her back against the pillows, apparently enjoying his obvious discomfort.

"Enjoying the show, are we?" he teased. "You know, keep this up and it might not get special anymore…"

"I doubt that. I think it'd take a long time before we get tired of se—"

"Oookay, that's great, I get the point." Antaria giggled and followed a now fully dressed Johan into the kitchen. It was amusing how he could be such a prude at times, yet be nearly the complete opposite when they were doing…_it_. Well, not always. But that just made him cuter.

"So, what did you dream about? You never did answer that." Antaria asked as she stirred her coffee. Yes, caffeine. God knows how she could live without it.

"Mmm…it's strange. I mean, it was like watching a movie…but all the pieces were mixed up. And it wasn't exactly a happy dream. It was pretty dark. And I remember a feeling of terror and dread and…" his mind flashed to one scene, the one he remembered the most…

She had been shot, he slowly repeated in his head while his body moved like some robot to pick her up on his back. And all while he was running away, he prayed only that he could save her…even though he could feel her bleeding onto him…

"Dark? So, it was a nightmare?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Of course, the initial terror is gone now, but, man, I remember having a sinking feeling in my gut, you know, like when you know it's hopeless, but you try anyway." He stopped stirring his drink and stared, concentrating on what little he could remember.

"The bad thing. It involved me, didn't it?" Johan looked up with a start to meet the deep cobalt eyes of his girlfriend.

"What makes you say that?"

She shrugged, then propped her chin up with her hands. "Well, there aren't really many things that could give you a scare like that, and so I figured it must've been something or someone you really care about. Plus, I could see it in your face. It's the face you make when you're worried about me."

Despite the solemn mood he was feeling, Johan couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips. "Heh. Am I that easy to read, or is it just you?"

She returned his smile. "I think it's a little of both." She cleared the dishes and cups off the table and plopped down on the couch, but then scooted onto Johan's lap when he gave her an invitation to. "So," she settled back into his chest and felt his arms wrap around her, "care to tell me what it was about? Or is it too much?" She tilted her head up and gave him a look of curious innocence.

He laughed, and she could feel the vibrations against her back. "No, it's fine. I can only summarize at this point, though. Mostly, from what I can remember—and I'm just going to take some creative license on what I don't—we were part of some…gang, or something, and we had to…well, this is where it gets weird, we had to…set the city on fire? Something like that."

"You mean we were like terrorists?"

He couldn't help but laugh. The remarks that Antaria made sometimes were so nonsensical it was adorable. That, and the fact that she seemed to have mastered the art of being able to deadpan just about anything made it hard to take her seriously sometimes. "Weell, I guess you could think of it like that. But the feeling I got was more like…I dunno, a group of rebels. And then the cops catch onto us, of course, and, while we're running away, you…get shot…and then I'm carrying you, all the while praying you weren't gonna die…seriously, in the dream, during that moment, I never felt more scared in my life. I was really afraid that, I was going to lose you…" unconsciously his grip around her tightened, and he buried his face in her hair. Antaria, feeling his anxiety, sank deeper into his embrace.

"Well, it's just a dream. 'Sides, I can't see anything happening here in Sweden." She reassured him, running her fingers in his aqua hair.

"Yeah. I know. It's just…I care—no, I love you, Antaria. Even if it's just a dream, losing you…isn't something I want to go through." His voice was still muffled, his face pressed in the crook of her neck. Antaria felt her insides squirm. Teasing Johan was something she had practically mastered, but comforting him when he was like this…it was usually the other way around, with her crying in his arms and him patting her back, muttering soothing words in her ear…

"Please, don't think things like that Johan. I-I…it makes me feel helpless when you're like this…like I can't do anything for you…" she trailed off, forcing her voice to remain calm and her lips still.

Johan breathed deeply, inhaling her scent (pine needles with a hint of cream) and sighed, lifting his head to face her. She had her solemn face on, or, as he liked to think, the face she put on to indicate that any more depressing stuff and she was liable to start the waterworks.

"... You're right, dreams don't mean anything, and we shouldn't be getting depressed on a nice day like this." Johan walked over to the window and opened one, letting in a nice breeze. "What do you think of going downtown and then catching a movie later? _Tales from Earthsea_ just started playing last week, and I know you like Miyazaki films. How about it?" He grabbed his jacket and tossed her a coat, which she put on automatically.

"You know, I love it when you know what I'm thinking." She flashed him a rare, genuinely bright smile, which he returned with one of his own.

"Of course."

A/N: Hah, I never thought I'd start writing fics again, but after seeing how people liked Cadence, I thought, 'what the hell, I've always wanted to get these ideas out', so here they are. This fic is basically going to be a collection of songfics, loosely related in terms of timeline and the characters' relations to each other, however, there will be complete AUs for some of the chapters. Basically, every story is a songfic based of an Anberlin song, and since I'm a big fan, I've decided to start from the top, with the first album, "Blueprints for the Black Market". Therefore, this chapter is sort of like an introduction for what lies ahead for the album of songfics, I guess. If you didn't understand all that don't sweat it, it's not important. What's important is that you enjoyed it. Couplings will mostly be Johan/Antaria (my OC), Judai/Asuka, with some other ones thrown in on occasion, depending on the content of the song. Also, note that I might switch back and forth between English/Japanese names from story to story, depending which ones I feel will work best for the song.

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, I'm always striving to write better. And lastly, if you couldn't quite make sense of the dream sequence, well, it's a dream right? 


	2. Track 1: Readyfuels

A/N: Hey guys, glad you like what I have so far. Anyway, first off, to clear up some confusion. Yes, there is another character in the GX section that also has the name Antaria. No, they are not related in any way save for the name, and no, I did not name my Antaria off of Syrus Fanatic 4-Ever's Antaria. I got the name a video game (War of Genesis), and the two Antarias don't share appearances or personalities. Antaria belongs to Syrus Fanatic 4-Ever and Antaria Schiller belongs to me, end of story. Now, let's start.

Chapter 1: Readyfuels

"Friends and comrades, please, gather around. It's nearly midnight and the moment you've all been waiting for is nearly here." A tall male figure, appearing to be in his late twenties, stood on a table in a well-lit warehouse, surrounded by his comrades, all young adults ranging from early teens to early twenties. "As you know, tonight is when the Empire will be preparing to celebrate Liberation Day. We've been planning and preparing since the year began, going through practice runs, and now, it's about to pay off. Please listen closely to Johan Andersen as he goes through the instructions one last time." With this, the man handed the stage to an aqua-haired, emerald-eyed teen.

"Thank you. I know we've already gone over these many times already, so I'll make things short and simple. We only have two objectives tonight: One, prevent the supplies from reaching their destination, and two, don't get caught. Each member will follow specific orders from their squad leader. And remember, we do this not for our own purposes, but for the good of the country." A loud cheer rose from the crowd as Johan stepped down, and the various leaders started getting their groups together.

"Wow. You sure know how to command a crowd, don't you Andersen?" A lanky brunette with orange highlights in his hair fell in step next to Johan.

"I suppose. I can't say I try too hard though. Perhaps it's just natural charisma? In any case, you're ready, right? Your group knows the plan?"

"Inside and out. Hell, I think Jun might just throttle me if I give him one more piece of advice." Judai laughed and shook his head. "But still, shouldn't you be a little more concerned? After all, you and Antaria've got the riskiest job…and speak of the devil…"

As if on cue, a petite (compared to Johan anyway) girl with ash-colored hair and cobalt eyes seemed to appear suddenly from the crowd and automatically latched herself onto Johan's left arm.

"Hey there, Antaria. You've got our things ready, I presume?" Johan asked as he bent down for a quick kiss.

"Double and triple checked. Fuel, lighters, guns, ammunition, and whatever miscellaneous items you can come up with. We can leave whenever you're ready." She replied, affectionately nuzzling his neck.

"All right. Time to get this show on the road, then."

* * *

"You know, I'm glad Daichi had the foresight to get the cars ready beforehand. This way we don't have to worry about engine troubles or whatnot." Antaria commented as she and Johan loaded their supplies into the backseat.

"Yeah. You know, there is a reason he is the tactical commander. It seems like he's always about ten steps ahead of everyone else." With a final check, Johan shut the back doors and took the driver's seat, Antaria in the passenger side.

"You know, for someone who's about to commit treason against the Empire, you're dressed unusually nice." Antaria teased lightly, glancing over her lover's form. "If looks could kill, I think half the female comrades would be dead already."

"Well, what can I say? I thought a disguise might help in the unlikely event we got caught. It pays to be prepared." He replied lightly, not taking his eyes off the road.

"And who are you supposed to be? Some celebrity?"

He shrugged. "I guess. Just not a working class orphan, and that'll be good enough."

"Well, you should've told me about this sooner, so I could've looked the part too." Antaria pouted slightly, her brows furrowing.

"Don't worry about it. There's no way I'm going to let them take you. But if it makes you feel better, I'm sure we can pick up an outfit for you along the way." Johan smiled, glancing at Antaria, who seemed satisfied with his response.

The car became silent once again, and this time, Antaria's thoughts turned toward a darker side, of things she didn't want to reveal to Johan, things such as doubt, fear, even a little guilt. Were they truly doing the right thing? Sure, the Empire made the lives of the lower class miserable, but was it worth harming potentially thousands of innocent victims just to prove a point? And suppose something happened—she could never forgive herself if she lost Johan. And yet, it was for Johan that she was doing all this…not for the rebellion, not to prove some worthy cause. He had found her when everyone else left her to die in the streets, had taken care of her, loved her, even though he was an orphan himself.

"I owe him that much. No matter what, I will follow him to the end. Even if that means giving up the principles that I bel—no, used to believe in."

"Johan, do you ever feel that you know for sure you're doing the right thing?"

The question was unexpected, but Johan didn't let his surprise show.

"Are you beginning to have doubts about this?"

"…Well, I-I…" She couldn't answer, couldn't ask him to tell her, that yes, it was right, that everything would turn out okay. It was so much simpler when people told you things, and you just followed. Actually thinking things through always gave her a headache, which was why she tended to avoid it.

He stared right into her eyes, intense emerald on deep cobalt, even though he was still driving. "I know you, Antaria. I know that this isn't something you really approve of, and I know that you wish for things to be different. But they aren't, and I'm not God, just a man; I can't just think of a perfect solution to change things, and so I'm asking you to trust me, like I trust you." With that, he turned his eyes back on the road, muttering to himself as they neared their destination.

_This car turned over without a key or gasoline tonight  
Feel everything on fire and I'm dressed to kill killing for your dress goodnight  
Help me to wait on you, hesitate on through, cause I'm alone  
Feel so jaded, contemplative, waiting for you_

"Well, looks like we're all here." Johan gazed around at the small group that stood in front of the largest warehouse in the city, or, as it was more commonly called, "The Crypt", for it was rumored that before the city was built the building was used to house corpses for an embalmer that lived there. While their squad members were unloading the supplies, Johan and Ryo "Kaiser" Marufuji were deep in discussion.

"As we mentioned earlier, you'll take your squad and the rest of my squad members, save Antaria, to secure the building and its perimeter. Once that's done, head over to the waterfront bridge stay there until you see the signal, then return to base. Antaria and I will rendezvous with everyone else once we've finished." Ryo nodded his head in confirmation.

"Still…maybe it's not my place to say, but are you sure you two can handle it? I or one of my squad members could easily stay behind for back up." Ryo didn't flinch or show any outward emotion when Johan gave him a slight glare, although, inside he knew he'd probably stepped out of line with that comment.

"Like I've emphasized, the two of us will be enough. The strategy here is to have as little involvement as possible in this kind of situation. You know first hand how difficult it can be to control and keep track of a large group. I'll concentrate better when I'm not trying to keep tabs on five other individuals. Besides," he added in a quieter voice, "if worse comes to worst, this should help keep casualties to a minimum."

"Johan—!"

" I know. But it's still an option we have to consider. Now, are set?" Emerald eyes faced turquoise ones.

"Yes."

With that, Ryo disappeared like a shadow, taking most of the squad members with him. Johan and Antaria prepared themselves, shedding their bulky jackets and arming themselves with silenced pistols for long-range and knives for close-range combat. Johan had just tucked three rounds of bullets into his vest when he heard a faint cry, only to be quickly cut off, followed by a light 'thump'. His chest felt a bit lighter now that the first part of the plan was preceding as planned; Ryo was, after all, a master of swordplay, hence the reason he carried a sword rather than a gun. Johan himself preferred an arm blade to firearms, but his situation called for long-range, so gun it was.

After a few minutes had gone by, Johan saw squad members slowly trickling through the shadows, some fine, others wounded, but there seemed to be no casualties. When at last Ryo came out of the dark, Johan knew it would be just him and Antaria afterwards.

"Good luck."

"Same to you."

As Ryo's face disappeared, he and Antaria proceeded to do what they had been planning for months.

_We're running  
We're running hot tonight and it feels so good  
Your arm in mine here near midnight and it feels so right  
Girls and the boys chase down running hot tonight_

As soon as the last barrel had been emptied, Johan took a match from his pocket, lit it, and set it near the gasoline trail. Then both of them took off without a second thought, running as fast as they could on foot, since even the car's gas had been contributed.

For a second, Antaria was tempted to just let it all go and shout and cheer; after all, their plan couldn't have gone smoother, but her logical side knew if they didn't put enough distance between themselves and the building, they'd be blown up along with The Crypt.

They had just reached the outer boundaries of the park when the explosion happened. While they were a safe distance away, the sound and sight was still impressive. A massive, flaming ball of orange and yellow rose into the sky, followed by smaller flames and a vast cloud of dense smoke. Johan pulled himself and Antaria into a nearby tree to observe after he heard voices closing in.

"What's that? The Crypt?"

"Is it an attack on the government?"

"Probably terrorists; and this being the eve of Liberation Day too!"

The frantic chatter of the wealthy meant nothing to Johan; they had brought this upon themselves, forcibly oppressing the lower class while still finding ways to live even more luxuriously than ever. He forced himself to tune out their jabbering and focused on the destruction. It was almost hypnotizing, he vaguely realized, with the swirling flames of red-red-orange to orange, yellow highlights streaked in between…

"—rd orphanage right across also…"

His mind snapped back to reality with that comment.

"Antaria. What did those women say about an orphanage?"

Antaria looked at him, a bit startled at his sudden demand. "Well, I didn't hear all of it, but I think they mentioned that some orphanage that was around The Crypt was also caught in the explosion and…they don't think there were many, if at all, survivors. Johan? Is something wrong?" she worriedly glanced at him, his eyes having seemed to glaze over for the moment. "Johan?"

"_The orphanage. The orphanage where I spent most of my childhood after my parents died. Where Ms. Tome and Mr. Samejima took us off the streets and looked after us. The orphanage." _His mind swirled with a confusion of emotions and past memories as he repeated the phrase over and over in his head. So engrossed he was that he didn't quite catch what Antaria was trying to tell him.

"—got them! Johan! Snap out of it!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him lightly, as not to attract the attention of the crowd.

"Wha—is something happening?" He focused his gaze on her stoic face.

"Haven't you been listening? What's wrong with you, you're usually more attentive than this." She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "It wouldn't have anything to do with the orphanage being destroyed, would it?"

"I—"

She sighed. "Look, you don't have to say anything. I can see it in your eyes. That place…it meant something to you, didn't it?"

He nodded. God, just _what had he done?_ Maybe she was right after all. Maybe there really wasn't a way to justify the deaths of innocent victims. Still, this wasn't the time to angst. There would be time for brooding later.

"So, what was it that was important?"

At this, Antaria suddenly shifted and avoided his eyes. "Oh Johan, I…I wished it wouldn't come down to this, but, I heard some of the people say…say…"

"Say what, Antaria? Come on, you have to pull yourself together. If you can't tell me what's wrong, I can't fix it." He pulled her close and ran his fingers through her hair.

"O-oh God…I think some our members got captured…" She sunk into his chest, as if trying to make herself disappear.

"They what?! Oh shit…" He cursed at himself for thinking everything would go off without a hitch. All his experience had taught him that large-scale operations rarely went off without trouble. So why was he still sitting here in a tree, listening to passerby yammering away?

"Come on, we've got to help." In one moment, he jumped down from the tree, Antaria landing silently next to him. "If this just happened, then we still have a chance. And if everyone followed the instructions that were given, then hopefully they're still around the bridge. Let's move!" With that they weaved their way through the crowd, not even bothering to apologize when they pushed people aside or stepped on a foot.

_"Please…please don't let me be too late!"_

_Running down the ready fuels  
It's finally over, just get over  
Time will tell if all turns out ok  
Help me to realize my dream is dying  
Redefine despair I turned away  
So look the other way tonight_

Despair. Desperation. He thought he knew the meanings of these words the night his parents died and he was alone on the streets, with only those emotions keeping him alive. But no. The emotions he felt now…they were much more intense than it had been in the past. His chest heaved, not just from the running but also from fear, the fear that was slowly clawing at the back of his mind and threatening to spill over.

"_No. You can't give into panic, Johan. If you do, then it's all over. It's not too late; if you can get there, you still have a chance to help. So keep a cool head and just focus on one goal at a time."_With that thought he pushed ahead, and both of them managed to arrive at the bridge just as the chaos appeared to be starting.

People were running around, yelling and fighting; in the dark it was nearly impossible to make out who were the police and who were his comrades, but generally his friends seemed to be holding all right, with many of the officers already out cold or otherwise incapacitated.

"It looks like they're doing all right!" Antaria shouted, as she shot out the back tires of a police car, while Johan was shouting commands for immediate withdraw back to base.

They were going to make it. The city's defenses were no match for a couple of well-trained teens who had bones to pick with the government. Gradually the guards fell back, and for second it seemed they had won—

"WATCH OUT! They brought the heavy-duty stu—" Johan barely heard the warning when a literal fireball came hurtling through the air, landing a mere foot or so on his right. The heat was so intense that even though it hadn't been a direct hit, he could feel his clothes scorching.

"Everyone! Scatter, now!" he yelled as loud as he could before he dodged his way from bullets, fireballs, and people to find Antaria.

If the panic hadn't set in earlier, then it certainly had now. Everyone knew the empire only brought out the Flammekanonen during serious situations, such as warfare. To use it on a mere rebellion…apparently they weren't willing to take any chances. A part of Johan grew sick with worry, of what the casualties might be; another part of him was, ironically, a bit proud to realize that they had become more than just a thorn in the empire's side, that they were now a potentially serious threat.

"Which won't happen if you're dead. So find Antaria, and get going already!" The adrenaline flowing through his system sharpened his senses, focused his mind; never mind the bullets and whatnot, he only focused on her…and she had already seen him and was running towards him. Together, hand in hand, they were fleeing away from the bridge, towards the only place they had been able to call home for all these years. 

"What about the others?" She barely choked out as they jumped a fallen barrel and dodged into a narrow, trash-filled alley.

"They can handle themselves." He bit back, although, deep in his mind, he knew not of them would make it…especially not the new recruits, oh God…had to stop thinking about that. _"Save the guilt-trips for later."_ He griped to himself, and forced the thought out of his mind.

_We're running  
We're running hot tonight and it feels so good  
Your arm in mine here near midnight and it feels so right  
Girls and the boys chase down running hot tonight_

Past streetlamps, past sleeping apartments and slightly bewildered night-owls that stared at the young couple being gunned down by the empire's elite foot soldiers. They were so close…just a few more blocks, then a sharp turn to the right and through a nearly-invisible passageway…

"Ugh!" Antaria cried out and nearly tripped when she felt a bullet rip through her waist, but she held her bearings and continued running, albeit slower. Johan heard her cry and felt her spasm, and he knew she had been shot. He pulled her down behind a bush, and, before she could protest, hauled her onto his back and took off again.

"Before you say anything, no, I am _not_ letting you down so you can forget about that." He muttered in her ear as he continued his pace towards the base.

Antaria nodded weakly. She wasn't planning to, anyway; the shot must've done more damage than she had initially calculated, for she was starting to feel strangely lightheaded. And weak…why was it taking so much more effort than usual to hold on…?

"Antaria! Stay with me!" Panic was starting to edge into Johan's voice as he realized she was starting lose conscious. _"Well of course, considering how much she's bleeding onto you." _his cynical side sneered. More bullets blew past, grazing his shoulder and leg, but he grit his teeth and didn't even bother to change course. It didn't matter what happened to him at this point, for the only thing that mattered was she.

_Can you wait for me a little, little longer?  
Can you wait for me a little, little stronger?_

_"If there is a God somewhere, then please, don't let me fail…let me save her…"_

And so he continued to run through the darkness of the city's shadows.

_We're running  
We're running hot tonight and it feels so good  
Your arm in mine here near midnight and it feels so right  
Girls and the boys chase down running hot tonight  
Can you wait for me a little longer  
We're running  
We're running hot tonight and it feels so good  
Your arm in mine here near midnight and it feels so right  
Girls and the boys chase down running hot tonight _

* * *

A/N: This chapter turned out longer than I expected, but that's not a bad thing, is it? I hope the lyrics fit well into this plot (or more like, the plot fit with the lyrics) and that it wasn't too cheesy. Oh, and sorry if the pseudo-communism/socialism theme makes anyone uncomfortable—it's just that I thought it would be a good background for the situation, and plus I'm learning about socialist Germany in my class right now so it just kind of worked itself in. And yes, this story is basically the AU dream Johan had in the prologue—so if you were curious as to what he dreamed, that was it. BTW, if anyone is interested in seeing what Antaria looks like, I have a brief bio and pic of her on my DA account (link is on my profile). And lastly, if you're here for the Judai/Asuka shots, no worries, the next song is "Foreign Language"…hmm, if you know the song then you'd probably know why they'd fit. 


	3. Track 2: Foreign Language

A/N: Sorry for the delay, but as I've mentioned in my profile, college life is often unpredictable. But, I think I've let this chapter stew long enough, so here it is. Pairing is Jaden/Alexis with very minor Jesse/Antaria and some Chazz/Mindy; note that I'm using English names for this chapter. It's not AU for a change, and it takes place in the early part of season three.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Sy, do you know if Duel Academy offers any foreign language courses?"

Syrus almost dropped his schoolbooks in shock, but managed to keep them from tumbling out of his arms. "Wh-what? You want to learn a foreign language, Jay?" he stuttered in shock.

"Weeell, not exactly, it's just…"

"What's this? The slacker actually wants to take on extra work? That's it, the world's coming to an end."

Chazz, having overheard part of the conversation, joined Jaden and Syrus in walking back to the dorms.

"Okay, hey, give me a chance to explain," Jaden held up both his hands. "It's just that, I think…learning a different language might help me understand…certain…uh, aspects…of…life. Yeah."

Chazz snorted. "'Certain aspects of life'? Real specific. That could mean anything. And I didn't know you were interested in anything other than dueling."

"Hey, that's not true, and you know it!" Jaden shot back.

"Yeah, whatever." Chazz just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if you could, what would you take, Jay? I mean, aren't you already fluent in Japanese?" Syrus looked quizzically at his friend. It was unusual for Jaden to care much about anything other than dueling, much less something academic.

"Uh, well, it's not exactly…nng…" Jaden trailed off, realizing that he'd already spoken too much. _Oh crap, I just gave myself away. Now there's no way I can avoid telling them my problem…and of all people, Chazz has to be here too… _Jaden gave a slight groan.

"What's wrong, Jay?" Syrus looked at him worriedly.

"Uh, heh, guys? Can you keep a secret?"

---------------

"Whhhaaaaaaaat? You like Alexis?!—" Syrus was quickly muffled by a pillow, which he shoved away. "Hey, I need to breathe!"

"Shh! Geeze, not so loud, Sy! You want the whole school to hear?"

"Sorry Jay, but it's just—"

"I can't believe it, but Jaden actually thinks about something other than dueling! Oh, this is going to be good stuff," Chazz smirked, eager for more details.

"Guys! Please, help?!" Jaden hissed through his teeth, his face now matching his blazer.

"Right, uh, sorry about that Jay, I mean, it's just I can't believe it took you so long to admit this." Syrus was trying hard not to laugh, but he couldn't stop a few chuckles from escaping his mouth. Chazz, on the other hand, was grinning so widely that it was bordering on psychotic.

Jaden sighed. What ever made him think that his friends would be much help? It wasn't like either of them had dated before. Well, Chazz and Mindy had something going on, he was quite sure of that, but still…

"Okay, on a serious note, what makes you think learning a different language will solve your girl problems?" Chazz asked, putting on a more sober face.

"I don't know, it's just—gah!" Jaden threw up his hands in frustration. "Like the other day, Blair asked me to help her revise her deck after class, and then during lunch Alexis asked if I wanted to study with her, so when I told her I'd already made plans with Blair—"

"Ooohh, you'd better confess to her quick—Alexis' got some competition!" Syrus teased, causing Jaden to turn even redder, if that was possible.

"Shut up! I don't like Blair like that, all right?" Jaden seethed, half angry and half embarrassed. "Anyway, I told Alexis that I could tell Blair that I was busy, but then she said it was okay, so I went and helped Blair, but then the next time I met her, she gave me the silent treatment! I mean, what the hell? Did she not want me to go? She could've just told me! Arrggh!" Jaden grabbed at his hair in exasperation.

Chazz and Syrus just stared while Jaden ranted and paced, until finally he seemed to have lost his steam and collapsed on his bed, facedown.

"You done?" Chazz asked, breaking the silence.

Jaden gave a slight grunt; he was too exhausted both mentally and physically (all that pacing was hard work!) to do much more than that.

Chazz sighed. "Well, I think that's just the way girls are. I mean, from what I've experienced with Mindy so far"—he shot a glare at Syrus before the bluenette could start laughing—"they often say one thing, but really mean the opposite, or something else altogether." He ran his fingers through his hair, recalling moments when Mindy got mad at him for no apparent reason.

Jaden 'mmphed' through his pillow, but otherwise made no attempts to change position.

"Maybe it's just the way boys and girls are wired. I mean, most guys I know are straightforward, or at least they don't talk in code or something like that. Girls, on the other hand, can range anywhere from the truthfully blunt to ones that require a dictionary to understand," Syrus nodded sagely, quite pleased at his own advice.

"And since when did you become an expert on girls? You don't even have a girlfriend!" Chazz retorted.

"Hey, I know this stuff because unlike some people, I actually read something other than dueling magazines!" Syrus shot back.

"Are you calling me stupid?!"

"Maybe!"

"Guys! Please, you're giving me a headache. As if I don't already have one…" Jaden stopped the two before their bantering turned into a physical confrontation.

"Sorry Jay," Syrus apologized and sat back down, but not before giving Chazz a glare, which was returned with equal fervor.

"I wonder why they don't give us classes for this. I mean, instead of stuff like math and chemistry, they should be teaching us life skills like 'how to understand girls'!" Jaden punched his pillow and heaved a sigh.

"That's just the way life works, so suck it up Jaden," Chazz sympathized, giving him a friendly slap on the back.

"Damn it! Why do girls have to be so complicated?!"

_Boys speak in rhythm and girls in code  
Tell it to me straight, give it to me now_  
_Face forward, face forward_

-----------------------------------------------------------

The next day, after having ranted to Syrus and Chazz, Jaden once again headed off to the cafeteria for lunch on his own (Syrus and Tyranno had to make up a quiz and Chazz was presumably with Mindy). That didn't bother him much, however; he was concentrating on how he could hold a normal conversation with Alexis without the threat of punishment looming overhead. He was so engrossed in his own head that he didn't even notice Jesse Andersen, who had just rounded the corner, walking right towards him.

Bam.

"Ow! What the—hey Jaden, are you all right? Sorry about that, I didn't see you there." The aqua-haired teen offered his hand and helped Jaden up from the ground.

"Jesse? Man, sorry, that was all my fault—I wasn't watching where I was going." Jaden laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

The other teen shook his head. "No worries, no one got hurt. So," he and Jaden started off towards the cafeteria together, "what's up? You looked like you were concentrating pretty hard there. Exam coming up?"

Jaden sighed. "I wish. Wait, I can't believe I just said that. God, this is just so complicated!" He stressed.

Jesse raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his new friend's dilemma. "Wait, so it's not school-related? Well, want to share? Maybe I can help."

Jaden thought for a second. He'd already spilled to Syrus and Chazz, and Jesse _was_one of his new best friends…"Okay, long story short, I…_like_ like Alexis, but whenever we get into a conversation, it almost always starts going downhill. And it didn't used to be like that, either. I remember during our first and second years, we could just talk to each other like normal friends, but now I can't even speak without holding my breath and praying I don't say something stupid."

Jesse nodded solemnly, taking in the information Jaden was divulging. "Well, I don't know if I can fix your problem, per say, but I could probably point you in the right direction, since, well, don't let this get around—I'd rather not let the world know—I have a girlfriend, so I can kind of relate. Although, I have to admit, Antaria is not exactly a typical girl. Or even person, actually." Jesse mused, remembering her penchant for deadpanning.

"You have a girlfriend? Sweet, then you can explain!" Jaden exclaimed, glad that he had found somebody to help him.

"W-wait, I didn't guarantee—" Jesse began, only to be cut off by Jaden's enthusiasm.

"First things first: why is that girls always say one thing but mean another?"

Jesse sighed. Boy, once Jaden got an idea, he sure had a one-track mind. "…Um, to be honest, I have absolutely no idea, seeing as how Antaria is as blunt as can be. But," he quickly added after seeing Jaden's crestfallen face, "I think it could be that they're just…uh, insecure, yeah, about their feelings. I mean, think about it; you like her, but does she know that? Perhaps she's just doing that to test your feelings; like, I don't know, if you really liked her, you'd understand how she's…feeling?" Jesse shrugged, hoping his BS had some relevance to it.

Apparently, the brunette thought it was sound advice. "Huh, you do have a point. Okay, then I guess I'll just have to tell her straight out how I feel about her then! Think that'll help her to become more straightforward?"

Jesse was going on empty at this point. "Uhh, sure, why not, go for it!"

Jaden pumped his fist into the air. "Then it's settled! After lunch, we'll head over and straighten this all out!"

"Good idea! Wait…we?!"

_Boys speak in rhythm and girls in code_  
_Tell it to me straight, give it to me now_  
_Face forward, face forward_

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Uh, Jaden, I was just joking, you know that, right?" Jesse asked nervously as the two (one confident, one slightly reluctant) made their way over the Obelisk Blue dorm. "I mean, yes, I think that communication between both sides is important in a relationship, but don't you think this is just being a little too impulsive?" He glanced at the brunette, but Jaden didn't change his speed.

"Nope. I mean, I was kind of hesitant, because we've been good friends for so long now that, if she didn't…" at this point Jaden hesitated for bit as he tried to search for the right words, "_reciprocate_ my feelings, it'd just get really awkward." His pace had slowed bit now that he was thinking about the confession on hand. "Oh, I don't know. Jesse, what do you think? You're the one in a relationship."

Jesse chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Honestly Jaden, it could go either way. I mean, the thing about a relationship is, each one is different; there aren't any set rules or steps you can follow that will guarantee a result. You just have to go with what you feel is the best choice and go from there. For example, in my relationship, she confessed first. And things just kind of happened from there." He gave Jaden a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I think you should take this chance. After all, if you and Alexis are as close as you say, then at the very worst she'd probably just turn you down gently. I don't see her as the type to leave you tormented. And who knows, maybe she's just waiting for some excuse to set things in motion herself. So don't stress too much, and just act like yourself."

"Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Jesse."

The two of them slowed as the rounded the gateway. Since it was daytime, the gate was left unlocked, and the two strolled through the entrance, attracting strange stares from the residents, since members of the other dorms rarely came through the Obelisk grounds. After walking for a couple minutes, Jaden was beginning to get worried that Alexis was somewhere else, and that they had made the trip for nothing. Just as they were about to head out again, however, the person they had been looking for walked right in.

"Alexis!"

"Jaden! And Jesse! What are you two doing here?" Alexis was slightly surprised at seeing the two here; she couldn't remember the last time that either or them had bothered coming all this way, save the whole 'peeping tom' incident during their first year.

"Oh, that's because there was something Jaden wanted to tell you. I just came along to keep him company," Jesse answered cheerfully, all smiles, while Jaden, on the other hand, was turning an interesting shade of pink.

"Really, now? Well, would you like to go somewhere quieter? There's several rooms in the lobby at are usually empty this time of day." Alexis could feel her own cheeks getting quite warm and her legs turning to jelly; was this what she thought it was?

"Uh, yeah, sure. You coming Jesse, or…?"

"Nah, I'll wait outside. See you in a bit!" With a wave, Jesse sent both of them on their way, while he stretched out under a nice patch of shade. "Now, time for a quick nap while Jaden works out his feelings…"

-----------

"So, uh, what did you want to talk about, Jay?" Alexis asked casually as they each sat in one of the fancy armchairs that were placed throughout the room.

"Oh, I just, uh, well…"

_Wanted to tell you that I'm in love with you!_

"…Wanted to say that I'm sorry for not being able to study with you last week…yeah…"

_D'oh. Nerve failed. Damn._

"Oh." Her enthusiasm dropped a little at the mention of…that event. _Why did he have to bring it up?_ "Well, don't worry about it. I'm sure that _she_ needed your help more," She responded coolly, trying not to let her irritation show.

"Yeah, I mean, I've seen her duel before and she's skilled, but man, she must've seriously forgot the basics when she restructured her deck, 'cause it was a mess! I helped her fix it up though, so she's good to go now." Jaden smiled, unaware of the implications his message carried.

Alexis felt her face freeze. _Oh, so now Blair is more important than me?_ "Is that so? You think that was a coincidence?"

"What do you mean by that?" Jaden's face suddenly looked puzzled, and if Alexis hadn't been on the verge of blowing up, she would've found it adorable.

"I mean, just…forget it, Jaden, it's nothing. …Nothing that you'd comprehend anyway…" she muttered, upset that he'd misunderstood her yet again.

True, Jaden wasn't the sharpest when it came to reading subtle messages, but he took the hint that he'd done something wrong. "Wait, Alexis, I mean, it's not what you think, it's just—"

"Just what?" she shot back, a little harsher than she'd intended, but she was too incensed to care.

"Look, I know—I said something stupid, didn't I? But I could say the same for you—I feel like half the time I'm playing guessing games with you!" he exclaimed, getting worked up himself.

"What? Guessing games? Just what do you mean by that?!"

"Well, half the time, you say one thing, but you really mean another! Why can't you just tell me what you really want?!" Jaden nearly shouted in frustration, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows furrowed.

"I-I—you know what, if maybe you'd paid the slightest bit more attention, you'd find out!" Alexis cried back, not even waiting for a reply as she stormed out of the room in a rage, leaving Jaden in a daze.

_Ooo…that was bad, Jaden, that was really bad._ Realizing what he'd just done, Jaden punched the desk in anger, not caring that he'd split his knuckle and blood was trickling down. The pain was his punishment—he had a perfectly good opportunity, and he'd just screwed it up.

"Nice going, idiot." He mumbled to himself, cradling his injured hand as pain shot up his hand and wrist. "Fuck, this hurts…damn it." He walked out of the room, feeling strangely more hurt emotionally than physically.

_Speaking foreign language  
Nothing I can translate  
You're speaking foreign language  
Nothing I can dictate  
You're speaking foreign language_

"Hey Jay, how'd it—oh geeze, what happened to your hand?" Jesse's expression quickly turned worried as he saw his friend's injury.

"What do you think?" Jaden replied sarcastically, intent on not going to the nurse's office; he didn't want to talk about it more than he had to.

"Ooh, well, better luck next time."

Jaden stayed silent.

"Oh come on, even if it didn't turn out well, you guys have been through too much to let some stupid argument break you apart! I'm sure she'll feel differently tomorrow." Jesse tried to cheer Jaden up, but Jaden only gave him a half-smile before rummaging around his dorm for a first aid kit. He silently attended to his wound himself, refusing Jesse's help. Jesse, therefore, had no choice but to watch his friend clumsily bandage his left hand with his right.

"You know, I was actually hopeful in the beginning," Jaden spoke suddenly, startling Jesse.

"Oh! Uh, that's good?" He asked cautiously, hoping he wasn't treading into dangerous territory.

"Hmph. Well, something happened. It just so happened that some moron decided to open his big mouth and say something stupid. And then the girl pretended she didn't know what that moron was talking about. Yeah right. She knew. It's just her ego's too big for her to admit that," He groused bitterly as he recalled how Alexis attempted to deny her habit.

Jesse was a bit taken aback at how spiteful Jaden sounded; had their argument really been than bad? _It's probably just the pain talking _he thought to himself. Jaden didn't really hate Alexis…did he?

"But—" and Jesse's ears perked up at this—"it's funny, 'cause you know, even though I know I was right, it still…hurts. Not like when you lose a duel. It hurts in a different kind of way; like, you're hollow, and you don't have a heart." Jesse was surprised to hear Jaden's voice wavering, as if he was on the verge of crying. "Hah. It's just like Syrus said the other day—boys speak in rhythm, and girls just lie. Goddamn it, I wish she'd just be honest with me—it'd be so much easier if I didn't have to guess her every word." Too overwhelmed with emotions that he never knew he could feel before, and not caring that his friend was in the room, Jaden let the tears that he'd been holding back slide down his face.

_Boys speak in rhythm and girls just lie  
Tell me how you feel, come out of the dark  
Then we can head back home and I'll know where to start_

Jesse wasn't sure what to say at this point; he'd never seen Jaden cry before, and honestly, he was slightly embarrassed. Still, he was a true friend, and when Jaden seemed to have gotten a hold of his emotions, he offered him a tissue, which was gratefully accepted.

"Sorry about that—I know, I was being a real crybaby there," Jaden laughed through his tears as he blew his nose. "I feel better now, though. Maybe crying really does help."

"Don't worry about it. I mean, if it makes you feel better, there's nothing wrong with that. After all, holding back your feelings until they explode isn't exactly an attractive option," Jesse assured him.

Neither spoke after that. Jadan was still feeling drained from earlier, and Jesse didn't think it was right to leave his friend like this, even though he couldn't think of anything to say. The two sat in silence, with Jesse nonchalantly flipping through his cards and musing about his relationship while Jaden found himself slowly falling into a hazy sleep. Jesse, noticing that Jaden's breathing had become deeper and slower, decided that now was an opportune time to head back to his own room. Just before he could reach the door handle, however, he was presented with one last question.

"Hey Jess."

"Ah, yes Jay?"

"You think she'll forgive me tomorrow?" Jaden's voice was thick with sleep and his eyes were closed.

"Of course, Jay. Of course."

"Hmmkay."

----------------------------------------

"Hey Alexis, something happen today? You're awfully subdued," Jasmine asked as the two poured over their review sheets for class.

"Hmm? Oh, i-it's nothing. Just some minor, insignificant schoolyard scuffle," She joked, trying to lighten the mood, but Jasmine wasn't fooled.

"Come on, Lex, don't give me that crap. We've been friends long enough; you can't fool me." Jasmine turned her eyes on Alexis, who had stopped writing down answers and was now just scribbling random doodles in the margins.

"Well, I, I think I did something really stupid today. I hurt someone close to me." Alexis was surprised at the emotions it stirred in her; sure, Jaden was her friend and she had a legitimate reason to feel slightly guilty, but she'd never felt it to this extent when she got into disagreements with friends in the past.

Jasmine didn't say anything; she'd suspected who this person was, but if Alexis wasn't ready to admit it, then she wasn't one to pry. Maybe it was a good thing Mindy was out tonight with Chazz—things might've gotten worse with her gossipy habits. She wasn't trying to make her friend sound bad; everyone had faults, including her; it was just that Mindy's particular bad habit would've made this situation more uncomfortable than it already was.

"This…person, he—well, he was going to tell me something, and, heh, one thing led to another, and the next thing I know, I'm yelling at him for something that's not even his fault." Alexis' mouth trembled as she remembered the look on his face when she accused him of being dense; she'd never seen him look so hurt before. "And I didn't even give him a chance to explain and I just, walked out. Hah. Some friend I am." Alexis sniffled, reaching for a tissue and turning away. She didn't want her friend to see her cry, because she was supposed to be the strong one, the Queen of Obelisk Blue; queens aren't supposed cry in front of their subjects, or do stupid things in the first place.

Jasmine patted her sympathetically on the back. "Oh Alexis, that kind of stuff happens all the time. You can't expect to do the perfect thing in every single situation. So you two got into a fight; if he's a true friend, he'll forgive you. Otherwise, I'll beat the crap out him for you."

Alexis snorted through her tears. "Thanks for the offer, but knowing Jay, he'll probably have forgotten it by tomorrow. I swear, he must have this automatic reset button or something." Jasmine nodded, pretending that she didn't hear Alexis say Jaden's name.

"See? Everything'll be alright. You can do it."

_Speaking foreign language  
Nothing I can translate  
You're speaking foreign language  
Nothing I can dictate  
You're speaking foreign language_  
_Nothing I can translate_  
_You're speaking foreign language_

-----------------------------------------

"Run away, run away, I'll attack run away, run away, go chase yourself run away, run away, now I'll attack—"

"JADEN!! WAKE UP! YOUR PDA IS RINGING!" Tyranno shouted as the device continued to play its tone.

"Ngggghhh…" Jaden turned over once.

"Your promises, they look like lies your honesty, like a back that hides a knife—" the device suddenly stopped ringing, indicating that the caller had simply left a message instead.

"Whew, glad that stopped. Talk about a racket." Tyranno proceeded to shake Jaden awake, as they were about to be late for class, again. "Yo, Jay, you'd better get up! Syrus already left without us!"

"Whuz? Class? Crap, what time is it?" Jaden immediately threw off the covers and scrambled around for his clothes.

"Currently, it's 'we're about to be late time'. By the way, someone called you right before you woke up but I guess they left a message instead," Tyranno informed him as Jaden hastily shoved his left hand into his pocket so Tyranno wouldn't question the bandage. "And why'd you have to chose 30 Seconds to Mars as a ringtone? It's so emo—'slash my wrist, slash my wrist'" Tyranno mocked and dodged a swipe from Jaden.

"Hey, they are not that emo, okay?"

-------------------------------------------

"So, who called you anyway?" Tyranno asked during their morning break. Jaden seemed slightly depressed at the mention of the message, but Tyranno wasn't sure if that was just because he was tired.

"Oh, it was just Lex. She wanted me to, uh, go over some of the review stuff with her," Jaden lied. He felt slightly bad for leaving Tyranno out of the loop, but he didn't feel like involving any more people in his situation than he already had.

"Ah, okay. Um, well, it looks like she might want to go over it now, 'cause she's coming this way." Jaden turned his head and saw Alexis making her way over, a neutral expression on her face.

"Let's go to the library." Was all she said before grabbing him firmly by the wrist and forcibly dragging him along.

"Have fun!" Tyranno waved, unaware of the real reason.

----------------

"…"

"…"

"…This is about yesterday?"

A nod. Alexis wasn't sure where to begin. Part of her wanted to break down, tell Jaden how sorry she was for losing her temper like that. Another part wanted to keep a strong face, put on the cool, logical mask she was known for. To her relative surprise, and relief, Jaden spoke first.

"I'm sorry Alexis, about the other day. I mean, I shouldn't have just yelled at you like that. Or said dumb stuff. I—you know I'm not good at this kind of stuff. But I—"

"No Jaden, you didn't do anything wrong." Alexis was unable to hold her words back any longer. She couldn't bear to see Jaden, always so cheerful and optimistic, so hurt and downtrodden. "In fact, I thought about your words. And, I think—"

"Wait, Lex, I know what you want to say, but, let me say what I think first." Jaden interrupted. "Oh God, where to begin…well, I guess, it's just I've been noticing lately, that our, uh, friendship hasn't been what it used to be. I remember, during the first two years, we could talk to each other about anything. You were there for me, and vice versa. But now, it seems like we're misinterpreting everything we say to each other, and I can't understand why. What's changed between us? How have we gone from being able to talk about anything to these weakened conversations?" He looked at her solemnly, even though, in his heart, he knew what had changed.

Feelings.

Alexis was touched and surprised at the seriousness of his words. _I guess even Jaden can be pensive when the situation calls for it._ "…That's what I was thinking about, too. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you, or mislead you, for that matter." She wasn't sure what else to say; well, there was one thing that had been at the tip of her tongue lately, but she didn't think that this was the right opportunity for confessions of love.

_Where did we go wrong?  
We need medication for this miscommunication  
Where did we go wrong?  
Our conversation's weakened  
Conversations weakened_

"Actually, maybe something has changed," Jaden spoke, though it was so soft Alexis wasn't sure at first if she had heard him speak. "Although, I'm not sure exactly when it happened or how. It just did."

"What did?" Alexis could hardly breathe. Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure he could hear, but she could feel her own feelings flooding to the surface.

Jaden gave a small chuckle. "'Course, this isn't exactly how I imagined doing this…but what the hell, Jesse said that there weren't any set rules for this kind of stuff…"

"Jaden…" she couldn't get the rest of the words out.

"…I think, I'm—no, I don't think. I know, that, I feel something for you, Alexis, as more than just a friend, because," Jaden took a deep breath and looked directly at her, his face flushing rapidly, "I've never felt this way towards anybody, and they say, when you fall in love, you'll know it. And I know." He gazed towards the ground, embarrassed at what he had just confessed.

"...I...I think you're right, Jaden. Because, I know, my feelings have changed towards you, too." Although she wasn't the emotional type, Alexis was surprised to feel the corners of her eyes getting moist. Jaden was a bit startled when she sniffed, but was quick to offer her a tissue and a hug, which was warmly returned.

"…So, now what? Where do we go from here?" Jaden spoke, his voice muffled slightly by her hair. Alexis merely sighed and laid her head against his chest.

"Hmm. I really don't know. This…is the first time I've been in this…situation." She laughed slightly, realizing the awkwardness of their situation.

"What's so funny?" Jaden smiled, glad that she wasn't upset anymore.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that before, I was always going over fantasies of when…how this would occur, and none of them involved crying or being in a library." She pulled away slightly and wiped her eyes.

"Ah, is that so? Then I think we should make this a memorable event, don't you?" As he said this, he suddenly pulled her close, one hand around her waist and the other resting comfortably behind her neck.

"Jay, wha—" she never got a chance to finish as Jaden chose at that moment to kiss her. It was a new experience, but they both decided that it was certainly _very_ nice; warm, safe, and loved. And slightly wet and salty from the tears.

When they broke, neither of them knew what to say, Alexis being suddenly overcome with a severe case of shyness, and Jaden a bit stunned at his own boldness. While the two were still enjoying an embrace, the bell suddenly rang, alerting them that they had five minutes to get back to class, or risk getting detention. Laughing, the two of them ran back, hand in hand, but as soon as they stepped inside, they let go; their friends would find out the change when they were ready.

"Did you guys manage to go through everything?" Tyranno asked as Jaden and Alexis took their seats again. Syrus gave him a questioning look, but Jaden just waved it off as 'I'll tell you later'.

"Oh yeah, we're good. Right, Lex?"

"Yep. We're good, Jay."

Then the two suddenly burst out in laughter, not caring that there would be questions to answer from their friends later.

_Boys speak in rhythm, and girls in code_  
_Boys speak in rhythm, and girls just lie_

-------------------------------------------------

A/N: Whew, that was a long chapter. In fact, it went on for much longer than I had anticipated, but that's not bad thing, right? Yah. Um, I tried to keep them in character as much as possible—you'll notice that I didn't make Jaden as clueless as you might have imagined, but my argument is, the guy's 17 in this timeline, and also, I wanted to incorporate some of the 'Judai' personality in, so he's more sincere and less goofy. Also, forgive the fact that I didn't have Tyranno in until the end—I sorta forgot about him the beginning ; Last words: hopefully, the fight/confession scenes weren't too rushed/cheesy, but since each chapter is supposed to be a one-shot, I had to condense everything within a reasonable amount of space. Tell me what you think!

Okay, for the next chapter, "Change the World (Lost Ones), I am having major issues deciding characters/plot for the song, since, admittedly, that's not one of my favorite songs and so I don't listen to it very often. Any suggestions? And please make a good suggestion—don't just give me the names of the characters you want it to include, I mean, give me some plot ideas/whatever, and if you're up to it, how/why it relates to the song. You'll get full credit for the idea, should I choose to use yours. Thanks, and hopefully I'll have another one up not too late after this.


End file.
